Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman says he’s optimistic the incoming mayor and board of aldermen will continue his efforts to obtain a small portion of Ward 6 land and convert the space into a public park for the Rolling Hills subdivision.
The city is working to collect signatures from property owners adjacent to a 2-acre area off Garrard Road after nearby residents complained about the structural integrity of a pond located on the parcel.
Wiseman wanted to bring a finalized warranty deed to Tuesday’s board meeting, but the city had only collected three of the estimated 11 signatures needed before a property transfer could be initiated.
If the property is conveyed to the city, workers could shore up the pond’s banks and take over its general maintenance. With that support in tow, Wiseman said further long-term investments could turn the land, now overgrown by foliage, into a public greenspace complete with a walking track and other passive park equipment, like benches.
“Ideally, we’d like to have everybody in the city within walking distance to a park. This would go a long way toward achieving that goal because it will provide park space adjacent to one of the largest residential neighborhoods in Starkville,” he said.
Starkville has about 147 acres of city-owned park space at eight locations. Only two of those spaces — J.L. King Park (39 acres) and Moncrief Park (7.5 acres) — are located north of Highway 182.
Using a 3-point scale in which a 2-point designation reflected a “good condition,” last year’s comprehensive parks and recreation study conducted by Dalhoff Thomas Design Studio rated five of Starkville’s parks, including J.L. King (1.7) and Moncrief (1.45), as in poor condition. Josey Park, which scored a 1.33 in the assessment, was the only park given a lower score than J.L. King and Moncrief.
The Dalhoff Thomas report also stated Starkville’s current park system will only provide about half of the acreage needed to support the city’s projected 2020 population and needs to add about 150 acres to meet demands in the next 20 years.
Starkville is also working to obtain other potential park parcels.
Wiseman confirmed the city is still developing plans for a minipark at the Highway 182-Jackson Street intersection, next to Family Dollar, and said talks about a land donation from another property owner could provide a parcel in the Green Oaks subdivision, near the shopping center home to Kroger and Lowe’s.
“These decisions will flow to the incoming board of aldermen and mayor. The Highway 182 parcel isn’t as small as you think. For an urban green space, it’s pretty substantial,” he said. “Some of that area includes (Mississippi Department of Transportation) right of way, but we have received assurances that they’ll be generous in the permitting process if we do get to that point.”
Comprehensive plan reapproved
In other business, aldermen voted 4-3 to reapprove a comprehensive plan for the city first approved in December.
Tuesday’s action was needed after Starkville missed a required 15-day notice of publication for the document.
The plan is subject to litigation filed by property owners — LMK LLC, Bettye Bell, Mary S. Bell, Margaret Copeland and Laura B. White — who own land adjacent to the proposed Golden Triangle Development LINK-backed industrial park that will locate near the intersection of Highways 82 and 389.
Some of the litigants spoke during a public hearing before the plan’s adoption and urged the board not to accept the document.
Among other arguments, the speakers said the plan offers no protections from rezonings that do not conform to adjacent uses, the LINK first promised to develop a technology and research park next to their properties and the stress of the entire situation is burdening the families.
No other public comments emerged against the plan’s adoption outside of the families opposing it and legally challenging city’s previous decision to rezone the 380 acres owned by the Stanley, Strange and Waldrop families to an M-1 industrial classification ahead of the park’s development.
Those litigants previously appealed the city’s rezoning, but 16th District Circuit Judge Jim Kitchens ruled last month Starkville aldermen “had a reasonable evidentiary basis” for its decision and the change “was not arbitrary, capricious, discriminatory or illegal.”
Kitchens’ May 16 ruling also stated the appellants did not meet their burden “to show the decision was invalid.”
The group appealed Kitchens’ decision to the Mississippi Supreme Court, but a trial date has not yet been set.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.